With the amount of injuries the Philadelphia Eagles have dealt with, general manager Howie Roseman continues to make small moves to try and navigate through the rough waters so far this season.
On Tuesday, the team announced they signed running back Elijah Mitchell to the practice squad. They also released center James Brockermeyer and running back Ian Wheeler from its practice squad while also waiving running backs Jaydon Blue and Carson Steele, with the latter picking up an injury in Sunday’s loss to Carolina.
The moves open up to spots on the active roster and perhaps indicates that Saquon Barkely could be closer to returning from his hamstring injury that has kept him out since Week 4.
Mitchell, who was originally signed by the team in the offseason because he potentially was a good fit for the new offensive scheme playing in a similar offense under Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco.
The running back had an impressive rookie season where he ran for 963 yards and five touchdowns in 11 games with 10 being starts. He has since not been able to reclaim that glory, playing in just 21 games over the last three seasons with only two starts, rushing for 560 yards and four touchdowns.
Blue and Steele were elevated for Week 6’s loss against Carolina. Blue, a fifth-round pick by the Dallas Cowboys, did not get any snaps when Steele left Sunday’s game with a shoulder injury. Steele was a preseason favorite and slotted in as the RB2 behind Dameon Pierce with Barkley, Tank Bigsby and Will Shipley all injured.
If Steele clears waivers, he will return to the Eagles’ injured reserve list.
Brockermeyer signed to the team’s practice squad earlier this month, around the same time the Eagles traded Cam Jurgens to Baltimore to provide depth at center. Wheeler, another running back, was a recent signee, joining the practice squad last week.
NFL Insider Jordan Schultz reported that Brown could be a potential trade target for teams seeking wideout help. Washington just lost Terry McLaurin for the season with a torn patellar tendon while Mike Evans of San Francisco continues to deal with a bum achilles.
The veteran has appeared in only the Week 2 win at Tennessee where he didn’t have a catch, but ran the ball twice for 12 yards. He missed the next three games with an ankle injury, but was not listed on the team’s final injury report entering Week 6, but was a healthy scratch against Carolina.
In his seven full seasons, Brown has 4,322 career receiving yards and 33 touchdowns. He had 587 yards last season with five scores in 16 games with Kansas City.
This report seems more like an effort by Brown’s agent trying to generate interest from other teams who could potentially give him more opportunity to make an impact than he has in Philadelphia.
It would be a surprise if Philadelphia gets anything significant in a trade who they signed to a one-year, $5 million deal in the offseason.
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